Index



R. C. RUSSELL.

INDEX.

APPLICATION FILED Nov.2, I92I'.

ls. Imnmmwzg v v 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

m15 INDEX 3 EEEDINE MIIEELL DEFENDANT L gva/vanto@ R. C. RUSSELL.

INDEX.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 28, I92I.

1,435,663, MIQIIIQIINOV. I4, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2. 3.417.

III-:MII IiI Patented Nov. ll, i922.- I

narran sraras Parana i @aerea ROBERT C. RUSSELL, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

INDEX.

Application led November 28, 1921. Serial No. 518,412.

T o all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, ROBERT C. RUssELL, a citizen ofthe UnitedStates, and resident of Pittsburgh, in the county of llegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and use/ful Improvements in Indexes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will Aenable others y applied to the book type, it will be underskilled in the art to which it appertains to make anduse the same.

This invention relates to improvements in indexes,-the object of the invention being to simplify and improve an index wherein names are to be entered and grouped phoneticallyA rather than in accordance with the alphabetical construction of the names.

A further object is to reduce to a minimum the time and labor necessaryto construct and operate an indexl such as.above mentioned.

With these and other objectsin view, the

Y invention consists in certain novel features of construction and-combinations of parts as hereinafter set forth and pointed out in the claims.

vIn thev accompanying drawings; Fi ures land 2 are views of name lmembers o two index elements; Figure 3 is a view of the guide member 'of the index element from 'which the name member shown in'Figure 2- was selected, and Figure 4 is a view of an index book with the top cover thrown back and showing the key element on its inner face and also showing the guide member of the index element from which the name member shown in Figure l was selected.

Myvimproved index comprisesa phonetic key element and a plurality of -index eleferred. mannerof either permanent or tem-' porary binding, and the key element may be applied to the inner face of the cover of the book and also to certain of the leaves, or said key element may be made separate from the book. The said key element might be produced on a card or sheet which may be asl sociated Awith the book without necearily a5 having physical connection therewith.

While I have illustrated my invention as stood that cards may be substituted for leaves so as to produce a card index.

`rI`here are certain sounds which form the nucleus of the English language, and these sounds ara-inadequately' represented merely `by the letters of the alphabet, as one sound may sometimes berepresented by more than one letter or combination of letters, vand one letter orcombination of'letters may repre'- sent two or more sounds. Because of this, a great many names have two or more different spellings which in an alphabetical index, or an index which separates according to the sequence of their contained letters 1n the alphabet, necessitates their filing in widely separated places.

In order that the names may be grouped phonetically, I employ a key element l, in which I pro-vide a phonetic arrangement comprising eight. divisions, as follows:

First: The oral resonants represented by their alphabeticaliequivalents a, e, z', o, u and y and their combinations: i

Second: rIhe labials and labio-dentale,- the former being representd by b p and sometimes j", and the latter being represented by o and sometimes f;

rIhird: The gutt-urals land the sibile-nts,- the former being represented 'by g lc g and sometimes a, and the latter being represented'by c s z and sometimes m;

Fourth 'Ihe dental-mutes represented by t and d;

Fifth: "Ihe l palatal fricative represented by Z;

Sixth: rlhe labio-nasal represented by m;

Seventh: rl`he dento or lingua-nasal represented bym.;

Eighth: The dental-fricative represented by 'l'.

` The eightelements comprising the phonetic arrangement may be graphically represented as. follows:

No. 3-c-g (discard h)-k-qx-s (discard inal s) z (discard fnaz).

' No. 5-l.

No. 7-n; No. 8-1. p y rI`he phonetic elements may be Vrepresented by diEerent emblems, but in the present instance I use numeralsl from 1 to 8 to idenp ltify the divisions of the key element; the numerals 1 to 8 thus constituting numerical equivalents of the several divisions of the key element.

In element 3, the diagraph g h is not considered representative of the element, as the same is usually silent, as in the name Wright Final s and z are disregarded, as usually the omission or addition of the final sibilant is immaterial in the pronunciation of a name as in the name Myers Without exception, when two letters which represent the same element, or a repetition of the same letter, occur in a name, without being separated by a member of a different element, only the first is regarded.

Thus the phonetic valuation of Mack isy M-a-c, and of Balk B-a-l.

Element 1 (the. vowels) is used only once in a name, regardless of how many times a vowel may appear in the name. Thus, the

y name Carter is phonetically represented In the practical application of my invention, it is' desirable to regard the initial letters of the names in their alphabetical sigy 'nificance. This allows the division of the y index into twenty-six parts according to the initial letters of the names.

Then the phonetic arrangement is applied, making the subdivisions of each surname initial letter group conform to a -phonetic rather than the alphabetical standard.

By representing the several phonetic elements by numerical equivalents as previously explained, the names may be indexed according to decimal arrangement.

Thus, the numerical equivalents of divisions -of the key element for the name Myersen would be 1837 as its phonetic key elements are y=1, 1*:8, s':3, n=7. These numerical equivalents .ma (when considered decimally) be combined as follows: y:'.1, r:.8, s=.3, n::.7;-thus y in primary position equals .1 r in second rposition equals. s in third position equals n in fourth position equals y Totaling .1837 i In practice, the decimal point is not shown y on the guide members of the index elements,

nor on the key element.

In 'the drawings, 2 represents the K book of an index andv 2, represents the index elements.

-Each index element or section comprises any, desired number of leaves 3 and a guide [leaf 4,-the` leaves 3 being hereinafter referred to as name members and the guide leaves beingdesignated guide members` of the indexelements.4 The name member or l members of each index element may be ruled to provide columns 5 to receive names and these columns may be designated to receive vided and designated to receive data relating to the placeof filing and the date of filing of actionsin which the persons whose names appear in column 5 were involved. It is of course to be `understood that other reference data maybe placed on the name members,-such for example, as data relating to property transfers, or the record oftransactions of a bank or other institution with its customers; in which latter case it will be desirable to provide a name member for each customer. The guide member 4 of each index element may consist of a page (when the book type of index employed) or sheet of paper heavier than the name members.

I prefer to employ card board for the guide -V members, and each of the latter will vbel lo.- cated in advance of the name members with which it cooperates to form an index ele- `ment, and each guide member 4 is provided with a tab 4aL on which the numerical equivalent of one or more divisions of the key element will be located.

As viewed in Figure 4 of the drawing, the index is divided, first into eight divisions 'corresponding to) the number of divisions embodied in the phonetic key element 1,=' and each of these index element divisions of the index may be subdivided to provide sub-index-elements, each comprising name and guide members. '-The sub-index-elements each has upon the tab of its guide member, numerical equivalents of two sectionscof the key element, and further subdivisions of the index may be provided, in which the numerical equivalents of three divisions of the key element will appear on the'guide members the divisions of the key element, but in most l cases, it isdesirable to subdivide the index elements and provide other or sub-index-elements. These latter are iformed by employing numericalfequivalents of two or more divisions of the phonetic key and placing such numerical equivalents on the gulde.

members of such subindex-elements.v Thus, thefnumerical equivalent 1 of the :first section of the phonetic key may be combined with the numerical equivalents of each of the other numerical equivalents in the key, as indicated in Figure 4, andthis same method of subdivision may be followed With each of the/key numerical equivalents. Any of the index elements or sub-elements may be furtherisubdivided by the provision of subindex-elements having one or more added key numerical equivalents. In Figures 2 and 3 of the drawing I have illustrated an index element or sub-element in which the key numerical equivalents l 5 are combined on the tab of the guide member (Fig. 3) of the index element. 0n the name member (Fig. 2) I have entered such names as Kahle, Kuhl, Kyle and Kiehl,-each .of which contains a letter, such as a, u, y, i ofthe division of the key 1, represented by the numerical equivalent l, and each ,of Which also contains the key letter l,

which in the key, is represented by the numerical equivalent 5. In Figure 2, I have also entered such names as Kaleb, Kolleck, Kulled, Kulm, vKellen and Kohler. Should the index be intended for a large number of names, Where further subdivisions Would be desired, the last mentioned names would be entered in index elements or sub-elements having on their guide members, the key numerical equivalents 152, 153, 154, 156, 157 and 158 respectively.

Having fully described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent` is 1. An index comprising a key element and index elements, said key element comprising designations representing phonetic-subdivisions, each of said index elements comprising guide ,and name members, the guide members only of said index elements having thereon, phonetic key designations in accordance with names received by the name members of the index elements andin accordance with key designations of the subdivisions of the phonetic key.

2. An index comprising a key element and a plurality of index elements, the said key element 'having designations thereon representing phonetic values comprising successively, oral resonants, labial and labio-dem tals, gutturals and sibilants, dental-mutes, pa-latal-fricative, labio-nasal, dento or lingua-nasal, and dental-fricative, said index elements designated for names according to' the subdivisions of thev key element, the key designations of the index elements.v being confined solely to the guide members of said index elements.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presence of tWo subscrib` lng Witnesses.

ROBERT C. RUSSELL.

Witnesses:

I. CLIFFORD RUSSELL, ROBERT A. Donne. 

